The internet is a wonderful place for you to spread your opinions around and hear others. Of course, this also means that you can’t survive the internet unless you have thick skin.
Malaysian influencer, Cathryn Li (李元玲) has made a name for herself for being famous online. So, it was a surprise to see her throwing a tantrum after a netizen made a callous comment about her piano skills.
正面交鋒 FaceTalk host Andy Chan invited Cathryn Li as a special guest on his talk show today on Facebook Live. Besides being Insta-famous, Cathryn is also an actress and occasionally plays the piano. She has even uploaded videos of her piano playing on her YouTube channel. At one point during the talk show, Andy asked her to demonstrate her piano playing skills by jamming with his crew. Cathryn, who usually plays classic pieces on the piano struggled to blend with the crew.
As Cathryn stumbled through her piano playing, one netizen commented, “A person (who likes) music will easily blend into song, instrument or any music but (it seems) that she has no interest at all.” Another netizen commented she looked bored and awkward while the crew played a song on their own. After they were done playing, she brought up the matter saying, “There were people who scolded me,” before claiming all the comments were all ‘scolding’ her.
It quickly deteriorated into a meltdown as Andy and his crew tried to reassure her. She tried to defend her piano playing but merely blamed her circumstances saying she hadn’t heard the kind of music they played before and that she had come on this talk show to chat so she wasn’t prepared. The crew were understanding, even attempting to defend her but at one point, Cathryn said, “I sit at the keyboard, people scold me, I sit here (at the table), people ask me what I’m doing, so should I just sit there (offscreen)!?”
The 31-year-old stormed off in a huff, isolating herself in the corner while still airing her grievances. The crew tried to diffuse the situation and relax the atmosphere of the show but Cathryn refused to be soothed, even storming back on at one point while shouting. The crew wrapped up the show soon after and Cathryn did not appear again on screen.
Majority of the comments were actually supportive and a few advised her to “do the best you can” and “calm down and end the show professionally“.
While her feelings on the matter are understandable, her reaction to it may have been over the top. As a social media influencer, one would think she would be able to handle the situation a little better.
Were her actions justified? Or should netizens be mindful of what they write in the comments?
Cathryn Li has since apologised. Read her lengthy statements here.
Sources: Lowyat.net, Facebook
